Faculty work to advance the field of pharmaceutical science through state-of-the-art research and discovery in the areas of cellular and chemical biology, neuroscience, pharmacology, and biopharmaceutics and drug delivery.

Explore the list below to learn more about each faculty member's research interest(s).

Andy Coop, PhD

Andrew Coop, PhD
Professor, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and Interim Associate Dean for Graduate Programs

Research Interests: Synthesis of morphine (opioids) analogs and biochemical studies of the mechanisms of cocaine and methamphetamine (stimulants) attenuation -- towards developing new treatments for drug addiction

Dr. Coop is no longer taking on students due to an administrative role. 

Richard Dalby Richard Dalby, PhD
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: Optimization of drug delivery to the lung and nose to understand what factors affect the performance of pressurized metered dose inhalers, dry powdered inhalers, nebulizers, and nasal sprays
Daniel Deredge, PhD Daniel J. Deredge, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: 
Application of mass spectrometry-based biophysical approaches, with a particular focus on Hydrogen-Deuterium exchange, integrated with computational approaches for the structural and biophysical characterization of proteins within the context of protein structure and dynamics, protein/macromolecules interaction and protein/ligands interactions
Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, FAAPS, FCP

Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, FAAPS, FCP
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: Nationally known expert in drug delivery and pharmacokinetics, with research focused on cancer therapy and treatments for disorders of the central nervous system

Dr. Eddington is no longer taking on students due to an administrative role. 

Steven Fletcher, PhD
Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: Development of new synthetic methods in organic chemistry and the disruption of protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions involved in disease, particularly cancer, by the design and synthesis of proteomimetics
Joga Gobburu, PhD - Professor & Director, Center for Translational Medicine  Joga Gobburu, PhD
Professor and Director, Center for Translational Medicine

Research Interests: Pediatrics; clinical pharmacology and translational research; comparative effectiveness; pharmacometrics
Mathangi Gopalakrishnan, MS, PhD - Research Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Science Mathangi Gopalakrishnan, MS, PhD
Assistant Professor of Practice, Sciences, and Health Outcomes Research

Research Interests: Pharmacometrics, Bayesian applications in drug development, and innovative clinical trial designs
Stephen Hoag, PhD Stephen Hoag, PhD
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: Development of systematic methods for formulating controlled and immediate release tablets, and the use of mathematical models to understand the mass transport processes in hydrogels
Jace W. Jones, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: Development of innovative mass spectrometry based platforms to probe the structure/function dynamics of lipids. Research covers analytical instrumentation, application to model systems, and bioinformatic integration of multidimensional datasets.
Maureen Kane, PhD Maureen Kane, PhD
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Director, Mass Spectrometry Center


Research Interests: Development of new bio-analytical technologies for quantitative profiling of metabolites and proteins; elucidating the role of retinoid binding and retinoid metabolism in cancer, diabetes, obesity, and inflammation
Headshot of Alexander MacKerell Alexander MacKerell, PhD
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: Structure-function relationships of proteins, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids; computer-aided drug design targeting cancer, opioids, immunosuppression, and other diseases; the development of empirical force fields for biological and pharmaceutical compounds
Headshot of Sarah Michel Sarah Michel, PhD
Dean and Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: Investigation of metalloregulatory proteins that recognize and regulate DNA and RNA, and participate in inflammation, cancer, normal neuronal development, and immune response
Amanda Oglesby headshot Amanda Oglesby, PhD
Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences 

Research Interests: Investigations into iron-responsive small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) in bacterial pathogens using a combination of genetics, proteomics, metabolomics, in vitro phenotypic analyses, in vivo infection models, and various expression analysis tools to determine how sRNAs are expressed, identify their cellular targets, and characterize their role in pathogenesis
Ryan M. Pearson, PhD Ryan M. Pearson, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: Developing strategies for treating dysregulated immune responses in areas such as allergy, inflammation, infectious disease, and cancer through the merger of two enabling disciplines, nanotechnology and immune engineering.
‌‌‌‌‌James Polli, PhD James Polli, PhD
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Ralph F. Shangraw/Noxell Endowed Chair in Industrial Pharmacy and Pharmaceutics


Research Interests: Studies on the inclusion of bioavailability considerations in drug design and the pharmacokinetic evaluation of oral solid dosage forms
‌‌‌‌‌C.S. Raman, PhD C.S. Raman, PhD
Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: Multifaceted structural and biological studies that combine high-resolution X-ray crystallography with biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology, and evolutionary and phylogenetic analyses
‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌Headshot of Paul Shapiro Paul Shapiro, PhD
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Associate Dean for Research and Advanced Graduate Studies


Research Interests: Understanding the regulation and function of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) proteins with an interest in preserving their essential functions in normal cells but blocking their roles in promoting cancer cell growth
‌‌‌‌‌Jana Shen, PhD Jana Shen, PhD
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: Development of molecular simulation and data science tools for drug and materials design; mechanisms of opioid receptors and ion/substrate transporters; reversible and covalent drug design targeting kinases and proteases
‌‌‌‌‌Yan Shu, PhD Yan Shu, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: Investigation of drug transport mechanisms and metabolism in therapeutics, particularly how different factors such as genetic polymorphisms and diseases affect drug transporters, metabolizing enzymes, and, therefore, drug responses
‌‌‌‌‌Audra Stinchcomb, PhD Audra Stinchcomb, PhD
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: Investigation of the mechanisms and optimization of prodrug skin permeation and microneedle-enhanced skin permeation, as well as the influence of prodrug physicochemical properties on skin flux, distribution, and metabolism
Marc Taraban, PhD Marc Taraban, PhD
Associate Research Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: Dynamic nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) applications in low and high field to study solvent-solute interactions; water relaxation rate as a probe for noninvasive characterization of biopharmaceuticals; and applications of modern biophysical and structural biology methods, such as DLS, MFI, SAX(N)S, etc., to study structural characteristics and conformational dynamics in biopolymers, molecular assemblies, and dendrimers
‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌Hongbing Wang, PhD Hongbing Wang, PhD
Professor and Interim Chair, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Program Chair, Experimental and Translational Therapeutics


Research Interests: Investigations of the molecular mechanisms that govern the xenobiotic-induced regulation of metabolizing enzymes and drug transporters in humans, including metabolism-associated drug-drug interactions, drug-induced liver toxicity, and interaction between pharmacogenomics and nuclear receptor-mediated induction of drug-metabolizing enzymes
‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌Angela Wilks, PhD Angela Wilks, PhD
Isaac E. Emerson Chair of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Program Chair of Chemical and Biological Discovery


Research Interests: Addressing the question of how bacterial pathogens acquire and utilize heme as an iron source in survival and virulence has led to the design of patented inhibitors of heme utilization as novel antimicrobials. Utilizing a systems biology approach, this research combines bacterial genetics, metabolomics, biochemical and biophysical tools
‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌Patrick Wintrode, PhD Patrick Wintrode, PhD
Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: Characterization of pathological protein conformations using biophysical techniques to elucidate how these contribute to disease; mass spectrometry and computer simulations are also being used to determine how the molecular dynamics of HIV proteins contribute to drug susceptibility and drug resistance
‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌Headshot of Fengtian Xue Fengtian Xue, PhD
Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: Investigation of the mechanism and biological functions of disease-related enzymes using novel cellular imaging agents, as well as rational design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of potential medicinal agents for human diseases such as traumatic brain injury, neurodegeneration, and cancer
‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌Bruce Yu, PhD Bruce Yu, PhD
Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: Biomaterials engineering research to investigate the link between molecular chirality and material mechanical properties, and research in the area of imaging technologies towards developing imaging agents for multicolor F-19 MRI
Wenbo Yu, PhD Wenbo Yu, PhD
Research Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Research Interests: Computer-aided drug design (CADD) targeting cancer and other diseases; new CADD methods development and coding; force field development; and molecular level simulation for phenomenon of biological and medicinal interests